Clamp for buckle



Oct. 23, 1956 v E. SAUER 2,767,453 CLAMP FOR BUCKLE.

Filed April 6, 1953 III/111111111 /-P, A TTORNE YS position; or if a belt much thinner than`v that intended United States Patent O CLAMP FOR BUCKLE Alfred E. Sauer, Warwick, R'. I.-,fa'ssignor to B. A. Ballou & Co. Incorporated, a corporation of Rhode Island This invention relates to` a buckle and more particularly to a belt buckle such asv is worn. by men for holding the belt in position about the trousers.`

Belt buckles of theA type" using a clamp? frequently experiencev diiculty when used on belts" of different thicknesses, inasmuch as the cla-mp has an edge which is designed to grip a' belt of one thickness,l and should a belt be used of a different thickness, say forr instance a thicker belt, the clamp does not come properly into is used, the clamp will not properly gripit.

One of thel objects of` this invention is` to provide a 2,767,453 Patentedv Oct. 23, 1956 2 means which pivot the bail within thejclamp and also provide a projection beyond the clamp to engage the belt lfor swinging the clamp into gripping relation;

Figures 11' and 152 are perspective views of modified forms` of the pin of Figure 10.

In proceeding with this invention, I provide a U-shaped clamp with one legV of the U shorter than the other and pivot this shorter leg in the side walls of the body portion of the buckle. Also, I pivot in this clamp a bail by means of a pin so that the bail is rockably positioned with reference tothe cla'mp, while there is also a resilient clamp which will have a wider range of. gripping than clamps previously' used.

Another object of the invention7 is toy provide aA bail memberr toY which one end of the belt isI fixed', whiclris soi related tothe clamp 'that regardless of the position of the clamp the bail may' be arranged substantially parallel with thel belt for more comfort and better appearance of the belt on the wearer.-

Another object of the invention to 'provide a resilient means which will friction with the belt'- and move the clamp into its clamping, position; thus the clamping edge of the belt Vneed not be used to initially movef theA edge of the clamp into gripping position and thus allowing a greater range of operation of the clamp with` belts of varying thicknesses.

Another object of the. invention is to provide a belt buckle which will be relatively simple to manufacture and thus inexpensiveto produce.l i

Another object of the invention is to provide a buckle which will be relatively simple of assembly so that its parts may be easily and quickly put together.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a fragmental portion of the belt with the buckle in position;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the reverse side of the belt and buckle;

Figure 3 is an edge view of the parts shown in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view through the clamp and buckle with the belt in position;

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the clamp in one position and just prior to the clamp moving into linal gripping position.

Figure 6 is a similar view showing the clamp as having moved into gripping position;

Figure 7 is a section on line 7-7 of Figure 4 and showing the clamp as moved still further into gripping position;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the clamp alone;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the bail which is assembled with the clamp;

Figure 10 is a perspective view of the pin and resilient portion extending betweenl the two legs of the clamp and beyond these legs, the part extending beyond the clamp being. suliiciently resilient so that it may be pushed back into the clamp when pressure isr applied to it'. However, there is sufficient friction between this resilient mer-n# berV and the belt, when it is engaged,` so that the clamp will' be swung that its gripping edge may be brought into binding position with the belt, causing it to be secured between the clamp and the' back of the body plate.

With reference to the drawings, 10 designates theb'ody of the buckle which consists of a plate I1 with rearwardly extending walls 12y and 13 providing a generally channelshaped portion into which the free end I4 of a belt may be inserted and'l which free end it is'v desired should be clamped. f `A clamp designated generally l5v (Figure 8) is' formed ofa single piece of metalbent into U shape providing a relatively short leg 16 and a relatively long leg 17, each of which is serrated along its edge' as at 18. Trunnions 1-9`Y are formed intermediate the length of the short leg 16 and extend into openings 20 in the side walls- I2 and 13" so as to pivotally' mount this clamp in the body' of the buckle. Slots 21 are' provided in the- U-shapedy portion of the clamp and in these slots there are received the ends 22 of the legs of the bail 23 having a bar portion 24 to hold the belt'. Each of these ends 22 is provided with an opening 25 which receives a pin 26 which will have a bearing on the under surface 27 (Figure 4) of the U'- shaped portion Zbl of the clamp 15 and thus will pivotally mount the bail inthe clamp so that it may rock with reference thereto. These' endsl 22 of the bail are shown on a larger scale in Figure 7 where it is' indicated that the portion 29 may also engage one part olfV the slot 30 so as to limit the pivotal movement to some extent, although being cut away as at 31 to permit of considerable rocking movement until this portion 31 engages the other part 32 of the slot.

The pivotal axis 26 of the bail is positioned a greater distance from the back of the front plate 11 than is the pivotal axis of the trunnions 19 in the openings 20. Thus, when the fixed portion of the belt 34 which wraps around the bar 24 of the bail is pulled upon, the clamp will be swung about its pivot so that the serrated edges of these legs will be moved toward the back surface of the plate 11.

The legs 16 and 17 being spaced receive the wire pin 26 and also the resilient portion 35 which is bent from this pin and which extends out from between the legs 16 and 17 and beyond their gripping edges in an arc, while the free end 36 is maintained between the legs 16 and 17. By this arrangement the arcuate portion 35, as shown in Figure 5, will first engage the free end portion 14 of the belt and will friction therewith sufficiently so that relative movement will cause the legs 16 and 17 to be swung about their pivot and brought into rmer gripping relation with the belt, as shown in Figure 6. Also any tension upon the fixed portion 34 of the belt will cause the bail member to swing the clamp into firmer gripping relation, and, as shown in Figure 7, this final gripping relation has been arrived at and the bail will be substantially yparallel with the free end portion 14 of thebelt and also generally parallel with the plate 11 of the buckle.` This makes for a more compact relation ingripping position oflthe parts ofthe buckle and more comfort to `thefuser regardless `of the thickness ofI the belt. i f r In some cases the pin may take other forms suchl as shown in Figures ll and l2, in which case a slightly dilferent assembly is provided for the bail with the clamp but the parts function in the same relation. ln Figure 1l the portions 37, 38 and in Figure 12 the portions 39, 40 extend through the opening 25 in the `bail while the arcuate portions 41 (Figure 11) and 42 (Figure l2) serve as does the portion 35 `shown in Figure 10.

vThe pivotal mounting of the clamp by reason of the trunnions` 19 being intermediate `the length of the short leg 16 causes the edge of the leg 16 to swing through an 2. A buckle comprising a plate, a clamp pivotally related to said'plate, a bail pivotally mounted on said clamp on such a different axis and so located relative to the pivotal axis of the clamp as to swing the clamp to- `ward the back of the plate when tension is applied to the bail, said clamp having two gripping edges formed by a U-shaped clamp with a resilient member located between the legs of the rUclarnp and projecting beyond the edges of the legs.v

3. A` bucklecomprising a plate, a clamp pivotally related to said plate, a bail pivotally mounted on said clamp on such a different axis and so located relative to the 1 pivotal axis of the clamp as to swing the clamp toward the back of the` plate `when tension is applied to the are of one radius while the edge of the longer leg 17 i' being a different distance from `the pivotalaxis 19 causes the edge of this leg to swing through an `arc of greater radius about the pivotal axis 19. A pull on the fixed end of the belt which engages the bail 23 causes the clamp to be swung so that the edge of the shorter leg 16 irst will engage a belt if it is thick enough, but,` if not, then the edge of the other leg 17 of the clamp will engage the belt. At the same time the resilient arcuate portion such as35 in the clamp may engage the belt, and a movement of the free end of the belt toward the left, as shown in Figure 5, or in a direction to retract it from the buckle would cause the clamp to be swung by this wire portion and the frictional` `engagement it has with the belt so as to move the clamp` from `the position shown in l bail, said clamp having two gripping edges formed by a U-shaped clamp with a resilient memberlocated bef tween the legs of the U-clamp and projecting beyond the edges of the legs, said resilient member comprising a wire also servingas a pivot for the bail.

4. A buckle comprising a plate, a clamp pivotally related to said plate and having spaced gripping edges, a member carried by said clamp and resiliently projecting beyond the said gripping edges of the clamp to engage the belt to begripped and frictioning on said belt to swing the clamp into engagement with the belt and retracting into said clamp as gripping relation with the belt occurs, said member being a resilient wire with an arcuate por- A tion extending beyond the gripping edge of the clamp.`

5f A buckle comprising a plate, a clamp pivotally related to said plate, said clamp provided with two gripping edges extending toward the plate, said edges positioned to swing through different arcs about said pivot to grip belts of diierent thicknesses positioned between said plate 40 l. A buckle comprising a plate, a clamp pivotallyrelated to saidplate and having spaced gripping edges, a member carriedby said clamp and resiliently projecting beyond the said gripping edges of the clamp to engage the belt .to` be gripped and frictioning on said belt to swing the clamp into engagement with the belt and re- ,tracting into said clamp asgripping relation with the belt occurs.

and clamp, said clamp being U-shaped, and a member between the legs of the U-clamp and resilient means urging the member beyond the edges of the clamp.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES `PATENTS 751,407 Perryman Feb. 2, 1904 1,399,343 Guyot Dec. 6, 1921 1,508,411 Riker Sept. 16, 1924 1,539,508 Rietzel May 26, 1925 1,602,893 Freysinger Oct. 12, 1926 i j FOREIGNPATENTS 42,287 t Germany Feb. 27,` 1888 

